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| Colby Spangler studies at the University of Alabama and promotes alternatives to legal guardianship, which strips people of independence. |
By Amy Yurkanin
Colby Spangler, 22, may not seem to have much in common with singer Britney Spears.
The young man from Shelby County did play music in his high school band but now focuses on wildlife studies through a program offered by the University of Alabama for students with intellectual disabilities. Spangler, who is in his last year of study, works part-time, belongs to a fraternity and lives in an apartment.
But his mom, Kim Spangler, said her son was in “the school-to-guardianship pipeline” until he hit high school. Many well-meaning people involved in special education advised her to seek guardianship when he turned 19 so he could continue to receive services.
“Schools will tell you as soon as they turn 19, you need to become their guardian,” Kim Spangler said. “So we just kind of believed that. The more research we did, the more we realized it wasn’t absolutely necessary.”
Instead of entering a guardianship, like the one Spears recently had dissolved, Spangler and his family opted for an alternative that gives him more control. It’s called supported decision-making, and the system surrounds him with support from friends and family.
Spangler’s decision-making team consists of several people who can offer advice on everything from social life to finances. Kim Spangler said it took about a year and a half to build her son’s team. It has nine people who each cover specific areas such as independent living, safety and spiritual growth. They can advise and help guide Spangler, but ultimately he makes the decisions.
Courts can award guardianship to a family member or professional if an expert determines a person cannot make rational decisions. Some people need guardians, said James Tucker, director of the Alabama Disabilities Advocacy Program.
But the system also strips people of their rights and independence. The Britney Spears case, and the conservatorship case of Golden Flake heiress Joann Bashinksy in Alabama, also raised questions about whether a legal framework designed for protection can be used to exploit individuals, including the elderly and disabled. The default in Alabama has been for courts to award full guardianships in cases like Spangler’s when a more limited arrangement might be better, Tucker said.
“The neat thing about this support decision-making is that the child is a young adult learning to live independently like other young adults,” Tucker said.
Several states have passed laws recognizing supported decision-making as an alternative to guardianship, but not Alabama.
Kim Spangler wants other adults to know supported decision-making can work for families and people with disabilities. If she had become her son’s guardian when he turned 19, Spangler probably wouldn’t have been able to attend the University of Alabama and thrive in ways she never expected.
“I know COVID came around and messed everything up, but my adult life is really easy right now,” Spangler said.
One day, Spangler told his mother he wanted to join a fraternity. He pledged Beta Upsilon Chi, a Christian fraternity known as BYX. He recently traveled with them to Six Flags in Georgia.
“I went online and found fraternities and looked for one I would want to join,” Spangler said.
That caught his mother off guard. Kim Spangler said learning to let go and trust her son has been hard but rewarding.
“Colby
has met or exceeded every single one of the challenges and has kind of
demonstrated his capacity to us,” Spangler said. “We think he is ready
for a more independent kind of life and we think he will do very well.”
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